Family Sponsorship Timelines and Fees

There are a variety of factors that will impact how long the application process takes, such as which country the applicant wants to leave and which Canadian immigration office that is dealing with the application.

Priority is always given to applications of the sponsorÃ­s spouse, conjugal partner or common-law and their dependent children. This process will generally take from 4 to 12 months. All other relatives applying for permanent Canadian residence can wait up to 3 to 4 years.

Fees

There are two types of fees included in the application process:

Processing Fees

Right of Permanent Residence Fee

Processing Fees

The application for sponsorship must include payment for the following fees:

Sponsor:

$75

Person who is being sponsored (principal applicant), 22 years old or more, or married or conjugal relationship or in a common-law:

Each additional family member of at least 22 of age, or married or conjugal relationship in a common-law or:

$550

Each additional family member below 22 years old, unmarried or conjugal relationship or not in a common-law:

$150

Fees for Permanent Residency

Before a sponsorship application is finalized, the sponsor must pay the Right of Permanent Residence Fee, which is $490 for each principal applicant and each of their additional family members. Some applicants are exempted from this fee, including your dependent children, dependent children of principal applicant, your sister, brother, niece, nephew, grandchild (provided they are orphans), and a child you will be adopting. Once your sponsorship application has been approved, you will receive a request from CIC to pay the appropriate Right of Permanent Residence Fee.
Fees can be paid on the CIC website with a credit card or in person at a financial institution. Applications will not be processed until all fees have been paid.

Timelines

There are many factors that influence the length of time it will take to process your application, such as what country you are applying from and if additional medical and background information required.

In order to prevent delays, you should make sure you have sent in all required information and documentation and notifying the visa office of any changes in your living arrangements (address, phone) and if your family status has changed at all (marriage, divorce, new adoption, etc.)

Once the Visa office has begun processing your application, you will be provided with instructions on how to check your application status online. You are encouraged to do this instead of repeatedly calling the Visa office for updates.